Burke firm's clients reap city business

Several get share of pacts, grants

May 02, 2001|By Gary Washburn, Tribune staff reporter.

Not only is Ald. Edward Burke (14th) a powerhouse in the City Council, but he also enjoys the fruits of a law practice that serves some of the highest profile companies in Chicago, including several that do business with the city, according to a financial disclosure statement filed Tuesday.

Without comment, Burke sometimes recuses himself when the council votes on certain business deals, but his list of clients speaks volumes in explanation.

The firm of Klafter & Burke, of which he is proprietor, and Edward M. Burke, P.C., in which Burke serves as president, provide legal services to American Airlines, one of the biggest carriers at O'Hare International Airport; Southwest Airlines, Midway Airport's biggest user; Kenny Construction Co. and K-Five Construction, which have received millions of dollars in city contracts; Ameritech, Harris Bank and Bank One, other companies that have won city pacts; and Habitat Co., which manages the Chicago Housing Authority's scattered site program.

Also on the client list are Nabisco and Republic Doors and Windows, both of which have received city grants for corporate expansion projects, and Montgomery Ward's, which was slated to receive assistance before its recent bankruptcy.

Another client, Palumbo Brothers, won notoriety in 1999 when, along with a corporate sister firm, it admitted to inflating bills on more than 60 Chicago-area road projects.

Joseph and Sebastian Palumbo, the brothers who ran the firm, ultimately served 19 months in prison for violating federal pension laws while their father, Peter, served about 10 months.

Burke also enjoyed success in the stock market over the last year despite the market's turbulent downturn, according to Tuesday's filing. He reported capital gains of at least $5,000 each on sales of the stock of 21 companies and his interest in one limited partnership.

The companies were mostly in the high-tech and communications industries and included Microsoft, IBM, Cisco Systems, Nokia, Motorola, Dell Computer, Sun Microsystems, Tribune and Bell South.

Burke was unavailable for comment.

Most of Burke's council colleagues reported no income above and beyond their $85,000-a-year aldermanic pay. Among the exceptions was Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), who listed himself as an employee of the family-owned R.F. Mell Spring Co., president of Mell Decorating Co. and a consultant to Beers Construction of Atlanta, according to a section of his filing where sources of income over $2,500 must be detailed.

Ald. Frank Olivo (13th), meanwhile, is a member of the Illinois Secretary of State's Motor Vehicle Review Board, a panel that settles disputes between car dealers and manufacturers. He is paid $20,000 a year, according to a spokesman for the secretary of state's office.

Olivo, a protege of Illinois House Speaker and state Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), also listed the Democratic Party of Illinois as an employer.

Ald. Michael Zalewski (23rd) was paid more than $2,500 from the 23rd Ward Democratic Organization, and Ald. Ray Frias received pay from the 12th Ward Democratic Organization.

Several aldermen, like Burke, reported income from law practices while Ald. Leonard DeVille (21st) received compensation from a church--Alpha Temple, 6701 S. Emerald Ave. DeVille is Alpha's pastor.